"The Stratollite was created to deliver more routine and meaningful access to space for all, and this mission allows us to give edge-of-space access to a commercial customer that would previously deem a project like this unimaginable," World View co-founder Taber MacCallum said in a statement on the company's website. "Sure, this whole chicken sandwich payload is a bit funny. But, KFC gets to embark upon a one-of-a-kind marketing experiment, while we get to pursue our first multi-day shakedown cruise in the stratosphere. It's a win for all."
KFC approached World View seeking a partner to launch its new chicken sandwich into space and the company took the opportunity to perform the test flight.
"As you can imagine, when we first heard about it, we laughed our heads off," World View's chief executive Jane Poynter told the New York Times. "And when we picked ourselves off the floor, we actually thought it was really, really cool."
World View hopes the Stratollite, a remotely controlled, un-crewed balloon vehicle, will be able to carry KFC's payload near the stratosphere for at least four days to test the vehicle for commercial audiences.
"This next mission will be our first attempt to really push the envelope with a flight designed to test, for the very first time, all the integrated critical systems needed to bring this Stratollite online for commercial markets," Poynter said.
KFC will stream the sandwich's launch live on its social media channels so the public can see if the tests are successful.
"This is an R&D shakedown mission, and as with all things R&D, there's a very real chance some of the new Stratollite systems won't operate nominally," MacCallum said. "In any case, World View is excited to take the public along for this ride. So through KFC's live downlink, we invite you to join the cruise."
